Blizzard Piles Snow, Delays On New England

BOSTON — This week's blizzard may be over, but the storm's impact is lingering as people throughout New England deal with shoveling, flight delays and power outages left by the blizzard that left almost 20 inches of snowfall in some areas of the state.

Tens of thousands of people remained without power on Tuesday, especially on the North and South Shores, which received the brunt of the fast-moving storm. About 300 crews from National Grid have been working around the clock to restore electricity.

Some NSTAR customers also are without power, though the company says most of the 8,700 households that were cut off are now back in business. Still others are not expected to see the light until Tuesday afternoon.

The community that seems to have suffered the most damage from the storm is Scituate, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Nearly 100 people had to be rescued from Scituate and other coastal towns that were flooded by the storm surge.

The last few days have also been a nightmare for many heading out on vacation. Flights have resumed at Logan Airport, but a Massport spokesperson says that passengers should still expect some delays, especially if traveling on Virgin Airlines, which canceled all its flights on Monday.

On the roads, state police report that there have been about 200 storm-related crashes since the storm swept through on Sunday.

Snowplow operators, according to city officials, continue to push mounds of snow mixed with ice and salt from clogged arteries.
Because many communities declared "snow emergencies" before the storm, many drivers across the state may return from holiday vacations to find that their cars have been towed from streets designated as emergency roadways.

Meanwhile, the MBTA reports that subways and trolleys are running pretty much on time.

The 18.2 inches of snow dumped in Boston makes it the 10th largest snowfall since the National Weather Service started monitoring these things in 1892. It was not the famous blizzard of 1978, but with sustained wind gusts of 35 miles per hour, Sunday and Monday's storm does in fact qualify as a blizzard.